Method of refrigerator manufacture



Oct. 11,

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' 1,644, 85 Oct. 11, 1927. L. G. COPEMAN 9 METHOD OF REFRIGERATOR MANUFACTURE Filed 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 l j d ll 17 H:

' INVENTOR. jzam 4. (51 mm V 1,644,985 9 e. COPEMAN METHOD OF REFRIGERATOR MANUFACTURE Filed Jan. 1925 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATIORNEY.

Oct L. G. COPEMAN METHOD OF REFRIGERATOR MANUFACTURE Filed Jan. 925 14 Sheets-Sheet 4 I b I INVENIOR. v I) 11 A TTORNE Y.

' method.

Patented 9st. 11, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LLOYD G. COPEFIAN, OF FLINT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO COPEMAN LABORATORIES COMPANY, OF FLINT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

METHOD OF REFRIGERATOR MANUFACTURE;

Application filed January 31, 1925. Serial No. 6,023.

This invention relates to a method of refrigerator manufacture, the essential object of which is the moulding of a complete refrigerator in one operation. This results in a large saving of time and labor costs since the inner and outer shells are both poured at the same time, dried and hardened at the same time, and when the same comes out of the mould the refrigerator is practlcally complete, with the exception of hanging on the doors and attaching the hardware.

In the drawings:

1 is a vertical section through a re frigerator constructed after my improved Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section through the moulds showing the refrigerator therein, the cross section taken at right angles to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. it is a perspective view of the wooden outer shell.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a wooden inner shell.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail through a door hinge, showing how the refrigerator hardware may be attached.

This method consists in the building of a wooden outer shell provided with side walls a, the top and bottom walls 6 and 0, respectively, and the front wall (Z. The front wall is provided with the door openings 6 and a groove 7 is cut in the side walls and top wall near the rear of the shell, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. The inner shell 9 is ar ranged to be telescoped into the outer shell through the opening at the rear of the outer shell, and abuts against the inside face of the front wall of the outer shell, and the same may be correctly positioned therein by means of a suitable so that'the side walls of the inner and outer shells are spaced from each other. After the inner shell has been correctly positioned with respect to the'oute i' shell, the same may be rigidly secured to the outer shell by nailing the same together where the two shells abut. These nails, shown at h in Fig. 3, may obviously be replaced by other suitable fastening means, but I have found that it is much simpler to merely nail the two shells together.

The shells are now placed in a mould. The mould consists of a bottom part 2' and the side mould parts j. A cross member 7c is screwed or otherwise secured to the shell,

as shown in Fig. 3, by means of the long screws 922;. This cross member is also secured to the side mould parts by means of the screws a, thus floating the shells with-in the 'mould and centrally locating the same 3, shown in Fig. 1, which places the food compartment tin communication with the ice compartment u. Similarly, the food compartment o is connected to the ice compartment by the passageway w,which is formed in a similar way.

The stone material is now poured into the mould and covers the outside of the outer shell and the inside of the inner shell by filling up the space betweenv the shell and the mould. I i 5, in the back 6 ofthe inner wood shell 9 to fill the space between the inner shell and core.

I preferably use a wood whichis rather porous so that as the stone, which is preferably an oxy-chloride cement, is poured therein it will penetrate slightly intothe pores of the wood, thereby uniting therewith. 'I have found that California redwood is very suitable for this purpose, as

the same is Very porous and is also extremely light. I may or may not use fastening de vices w, as shown in Fig. 4, which consist of flat-headed nails partly driven into the wooden shell so that the same. will become imbedded in the stone.

The stone is allowed to set for approxi- It is introduced through the hole mately 12 hours, which is suflicient time to 7 allow the stone to become extremely hard The completed refrigerator may now bewithdrawn from the mould and the space between the shells filled up with ground cork, or other suitable insulating material,

and the back plate 3/ 2) secured in Eli Tcient length so as to reach the outside surexception of the han 'ging of the place so as to support the reariof the inner shell. The drain pipes'l and 2 may be readily cast into the refrigerator.

When the refrigerator 1s withdrawn from the moulds it is a completed article, with the doors and the attaching of the hardware. The small threaded sections of tube designated 10 (Figs. 3 and l) are screwed into the front of the wooden outer shell and are of sufliface of the stone after the stone has been cast. These tubes are internally threaded for 'receivingthe bolts or screws used in attaching the hardware to the refrigerator front.

This refrigerator is extremelylight as compared with the solid moulded stone refrigerator of the prior art, as the structure is primarily a wooden structure covered with alayer of stone. Thisstone layer is relatively thin, as compared to the thickness of the wooden frame, and it is found that the same will not easily chip off and will not crack when subjected to severe strains, as the wood reinforcement provides sufiicient tensile strengthjto resistany strains "which the refrigerator may-be sub] ected-ito when being shipped or knocked about.

7 One *of the'advantages of this construction that it permits theuseof the wooden inner and outer shells as part'of the mould, The

outershell and inner shell, which arefise-v cured together, are floated within the mould in such away as to space the walls of the i outer shell from the mould wallsxj, and tospace the wallssofvtheinner shell from the cores 0. The stone is poured between the V outershell and the mould and between the. inner shell and the cores. TliLS obviously eliminates some Ofl l16"II1OtllClS,1Wl11Cl1 are rather expensive, thereby making a large together of an-inner and outer shell, and the casting of'a layer of stone around the out-n inner shell. 1

savingin production costs. r

In myapplicatlon Serial No. 18,132, filed hiiarc h 25,? 1925, I claim a inouldedzcore of heat-insulating material'in this stone type of refrigerator; T'he present application is directed to quite a idiiferent iconstruction,

wherein the core construction is in the form t of Ta fabricated shell or shells of wood, or separate units that have relativelywgreat tensileistrength; These not only serve in a measure as heat insulators, but they give shapeand strengthtothe cabinet andprevent the fracture of lhBStOHEWOIkw What I claim is: i

1. The method of refrigerator-or manufacture, which comprises the fastening side of the outer shellandtheiinsideof{the 2. The method the applying of a relatively thin layer of of "refrigerator or cabinet manufacture, which comprises the fastenin'mtogether ,of; an inner and outer yshellu and signature.

stone around the outside of the outer shell and the inside of the inner shell.

3. The method of refrigerator or cabinet manufacture, which comprises the fastening together of a wooden inner shell and a. wooden outer shell, and the applying of a ,layer of stone about-the outside of theoutcr shell and the inside of the inner shell.

4. The method of refrigerator or cabinet manufacture, which comprises the fastening together of a 'wooden inner shell and a wooden outer shell, and the cast-uniting of a layer of stone about the outside of they ing of an inner shell within an outer shell and securing the same together in spaced relation, the inserting of said shells. into a ni-ouldprovided with cores, the casting of a layer of stonebetween the mould and outer v shell and between the cores and the inner shell, and the-filling of the space between said shells with an insulating material.

"7'. The method of refrigerator or' cabinet manufacture, which comprises the telescope.

ing of an inner shell having compartments wlthllljttll outer shell and securing the same together in spaced relation, the inserting of said shells into-a mould and spacing the walls of the outer shell from said mould, the

inserting of cores into the compartments of. i ,the inner shelljand spacing the walls of the inside sliell'from the said-core, the casting of. stone between'themould'and outer shell and "between the inner shell. and cores, and the fillingof the space between said shells with,

an insulating material; A

8. The method of refrigerator, or cabinet manufacture, which comprises the fitting togetheroftwo shells to form a core, and the applying'of arelatively thin layer of stone around the outside of the coreand the cast uniting eta layer of sstone about the inside "ofthe core.

'9,'Tl1 methoclof refrigerator or cabinet manufacture which comprises fitting together two shells to form a core, one .of-rs'aid shells reinforcing and defining refrigerator ,or rabinet wallpand applying" arelatively thin layer of stone around the outside of'the core, and the cast unitingof a layer, of stone about theinside of the core. j v

have affixed my In testimony whereof I thorn G certain 

